23 Replies - 1215 Views - Last Post: 23 May 2010 - 05:29 PM

world's first synthetic life form

Posted 20 May 2010 - 03:30 PM

Well.. we have either turned a corner in science and this will be good, or we are deeply fucked.

My concern is the commercialization options outlined... because big oil/phramacons/medical are going to pour forth into this industry.. exploit and create with reckless abandon and shit will go awry because some punk ass intern is cutting corners in the 'boring world of build-a-life' at the mall.

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Scientists have created the world's first synthetic life form in a landmark experiment that paves the way for designer organisms that are built rather than evolved.

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The controversial feat, which has occupied 20 scientists for more than 10 years at an estimated cost of $40m, was described by one researcher as "a defining moment in biology".

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Craig Venter, the pioneering US geneticist behind the experiment, said the achievement heralds the dawn of a new era in which new life is made to benefit humanity, starting with bacteria that churn out biofuels, soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and even manufacture vaccines

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The single-celled organism has four "watermarks" written into its DNA to identify it as synthetic and help trace its descendants back to their creator, should they go astray

Dr Venter's team developed a new code based on the four letters of the genetic code, G, T, C and A, that allowed them to draw on the whole alphabet, numbers and punctuation marks to write the watermarks. Anyone who cracks the code is invited to email an address written into the DNA.

Replies To: world's first synthetic life form

Re: world's first synthetic life form

Posted 20 May 2010 - 04:29 PM

Let me be the first to go on record to say that this is the beginning of the Zombie apocalypse. This little bugger will somehow get into the brain of a human, mutate and bam! We're gonna be practicing our "Head Shots!!"

Re: world's first synthetic life form

Posted 20 May 2010 - 08:09 PM

Oddly enough I find myself in support of this. Partially because I bet I can corner the market on zombie-killing guns, but partially because I think that not only could this work wonders to, eg, produce biofuels, I think this could be used medically in the near future (read as: in my life time) to, eg, cure 'incurable' illnesses. imagine curing HIV, hepatitis, HPV and all these other nasty (or at least very irritating) viruses. or creating a species of bacteria that will eat the lard out of the inside of your arteries so that you don't have coronary problems or alzheimers. Or a bacteria to clear up your acne. Or eventually more complex organisms, imagine having a symbiotic third arm that you could detach and put in a fishbowl.

Re: world's first synthetic life form

Posted 20 May 2010 - 08:36 PM

I read about this in Technological Review. It's amazing the buisiness prospectives if scientists can use this to replace fossil fuels. I'm all for this until we hit skynet level. Then, I'll deny support in the first place and take you all down with me =)

Re: world's first synthetic life form

Posted 21 May 2010 - 03:26 AM

I'm in support of this for better or worse. For a start a zombie apocalypse would be a good laugh and for two its just amazing the sheer possibilities this presents. Of course corporations will snap this up and use it as just another way to extract money from us soooo... oh well. Zombies or Corporate Monsters.... not sure which I prefer :S